


Got To Be Kitten Me!

by GeniusCactus



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M, mention of Kikumaru Eiji, they adopt a cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-14 21:49:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13599078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeniusCactus/pseuds/GeniusCactus
Summary: Fuji and Tezuka are unexpectedly adopted by a cat. Fuji isn't sure how to feel.





	Got To Be Kitten Me!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [betinafei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/betinafei/gifts).



> Yay! Another Tezufuji fan :D I hope you enjoy this!

The cat, which Tezuka aptly named “Meow,” came around their apartment once or twice a week. He was a friendly, but very vocal cat, and would sit at their door yowling until either Tezuka or Fuji finally opened the door to give him some attention. Whenever Meow stopped by, Tezuka would sit on the steps outside their apartment tossing an old tennis ball for the cat to chase. As soon as the ball even hinted at rolling down the steps, Meow was dashing off in hot pursuit of the round menace. Fuji was always hovering close by, watching the adorable duo through the lense of his camera.

After one of his monthly fishing ventures, Tezuka set some leftovers outside their apartment for the cat. He’d caught too much for him and Fuji to eat alone, and he didn’t want it to go to waste. Upon spotting the leftovers, Meow was overjoyed! Purring loudly, Meow devoured the fishy treat in a matter of seconds.

Meow started coming by more and more frequently, always crying expectantly for another handout. Tezuka always had a little something prepared, despite Fuji’s insistence that the cat was ‘training him.’ One night, Fuji found Tezuka cobbling bits of a beat up fishing rod together with random odds and ends they had around the house. It looked ridiculous, like Tezuka fished it right out of the rubbish bin. So, Fuji was quite taken aback when Tezuka informed him he was making a cat toy. It didn’t look like any cat toy he’d ever seen!

As soon as Tezuka pulled out his invention, Meow was entranced, not paying a second glance to the toy’s homemade appearance. As Meow took a ferocious swipe at the empty milk jug Tezuka had tied to the end of the fishing line, and Fuji could sense the pride radiating off Tezuka. And, that’s when Fuji realized that Tezuka had not only come to expect these visits, but actually looked forward to them.

Tezuka’s soft spot for animals was no secret to Fuji. Tezuka always looked on longingly at their neighbors walking their dogs, or at the cats curiously peeking out the window next door. Yet, despite sensing how much Tezuka wanted a pet of his own, Fuji never dared to bring the subject up. Maybe, it was because living together was still a new thing for them, and adding a pet to the mix didn’t seem like the brightest idea. Or perhaps, it was simply because Fuji didn’t want a pet. Whatever the reason, the idea of getting a pet made Fuji’s stomach twist into uncomfortable knots, so he tried to avoid the topic whenever possible.

For Fuji, Meow’s visits were the perfect compromise. It was like having their own pet, minus the responsibility of ownership. They never had to worry about taking him to the vet or cleaning the cat box. Meow would come by to play a couple times a week and then be off on his merry way.

But, all of this changed one cold winter day...

They were expected to have one of those rare freezes that only happened once or twice a year. There was an announcement on the news reminding everyone to take their pets and plants inside before the freeze. By the time the sun set, ice was already starting to crystallize on their balcony. And, as if on cue, Meow came yowling at their door late that evening.

“We can’t just leave him outside, Fuji. He’ll freeze.” Tezuka said, opening their front door. Meow lazily sauntered in, inviting a chilly gust into the apartment. After sniffing and rubbing his fur on literally every object in their living room, Meow finally hopped up on their couch for a quick cat nap.

The cold moved on.

The cat did not.

The following morning, when Fuji opened the door to let Meow back out into the world, the cat just eyed Fuji sleepily from the couch, not budging an inch. Fuji tried to let him out several more times after that, but Meow wouldn’t even come near the door. It was as if he was saying _I live here now, this is my home_.

The day Tezuka came home balancing value-sized bags of cat food and cat litter over each shoulder, it suddenly hit Fuji that their situation wasn’t temporary. On the one hand, Fuji loved those rare, precious moments where Tezuka would let his guard down ever so slightly while snuggling up with his new feline friend. Sometimes he even let a tiny smile slip. It was the perfect photo opportunity. However, Fuji didn’t love lint rolling his navy sweater 300 times before leaving the house…and still finding fur on his sleeve hours later. He didn’t love discovering their nice upholstered pillows had become Meow’s new favorite scratching post.

And, he especially didn’t love returning home to find their living room caked in dirt, and his favorite terracotta pot shattered on the floor. The roots of Fuji’s cactus were crudely exposed, covered by nothing more than a thin layer of potting soil. Meow eyed Fuji from the couch, innocently licking the dirt off his paws.

Fuji’s cactus survived the ordeal with little hassle, but this incident was the last straw for Fuji. Fuji was _done_. The cat had to go.

Yet, Fuji found it difficult to voice his complaints to his boyfriend. Tezuka was so fond of the cat. In fact, this was the happiest Fuji had seen him since he won Wimbledon last year. He couldn’t imagine tearing Tezuka away from his new companion, so In a sudden change of heart, Fuji decided to give Meow a second chance.

After a couple days of being extra nice to the cat, Fuji quickly realized if he was going to learn to love the pesky furball (or at least to tolerate him), he would need some guidance from a professional. Luckily, Fuji just so happened to be good friends with a cat loving expert.

*

*

“I don’t think Meow likes me,” Fuji murmured in to the receiver.

“Why do you say that!?” Eiji asked, sounding surprised at the mere prospect that a cat and human might not get along.

“Well for starters, he’s always messing with my stuff,” Fuji said, proceeding to recall the upholstered pillow incident and the cactus incident to Eiji. “Plus, I’ve been being extra nice to him lately,” Fuji continued, carefully leaving out part where being _extra nice_ included not putting any wasabi in Meow’s bowl (not even a teeny bit to see how he would react).

 Eiji made a bunch of thinking noises, signaling he was contemplating Fuji’s problem. Since Eiji’s affinity for felines was innate, he was  probably having trouble articulating just what made cats so great. Still, Fuji held out hope that Eiji might be able to muster up some advice for him.

“Fuji, do you remember back in Middle School when you were always teasing Tezuka? You would take secret pictures of him at lunch, and sometimes sneak his pens in your bag when he wasn’t looking. I think at one point you had a whole drawer in your room dedicated to his pens!” Fuji stiffened as Eiji snickered on the other end of the line. This was the problem with being friends with people for so long. They knew all your secrets.

Just as Fuji was about to bring up an embarrassing story of Eiji awkwardly flirting with Oishi (there were so many!), Eiji continued his train of thought.

“But, you weren’t teasing Tezuka because you _disliked_ him. It was actually the opposite, wasn’t it? I think Meow’s the same. He’s not messing with your things because he hates you. He wants you to notice him.”

*

*

Although Fuji thought Eiji’s analogy was a little ridiculous (he was _nothing_ like that cat), after mulling it over a while, he realized the point Eiji was trying to make. He’d been keeping the cat at arm’s length, afraid of how taking on this big responsibility might alter he and Tezuka’s relationship.

Fuji was drawing himself back, rejecting anything that might cause a potential rift in their relationship. The same thing he always did when he got nervous about change.

It was a bad habit of his.

Fuji snatched Tezuka’s stupid fishing rod toy, deciding this time things would be different. As much as Fuji hated to admit it, he  couldn’t predict or control the future. Maybe raising this cat would pull them further apart. But, there was a chance it might also bring them closer together. Fuji couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Meow mercilessly pounce at the empty milk jug.  The sound of a camera clicked behind him, and time almost seemed to stop as Fuji turned to meet Tezuka’s warm gaze.  In that moment, Fuji knew he’d made the right decision.

 

 


End file.
